North Fork Gunnison River

North Fork Gunnison River
The river near Paonia, Colorado.
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Physical characteristics
Source	Rocky Mountains
• coordinates	38°56′35″N 107°21′8″W / 38.94306°N 107.35222°W / 38.94306; -107.35222[2]
• elevation	6,470 ft (1,970 m)[3]
Mouth	Gunnison River
• coordinates	38°46′58″N 107°50′12″W / 38.78278°N 107.83667°W / 38.78278; -107.83667[2]
• elevation	5,096 ft (1,553 m)[3]
Basin size	741 sq mi (1,920 km2)[1]
Discharge
• location	Below Paonia[1]
• average	227 cu ft/s (6.4 m3/s)[1]
• minimum	4.4 cu ft/s (0.12 m3/s)
• maximum	3,990 cu ft/s (113 m3/s)

The North Fork Gunnison River (locally known as the North Fork) is a tributary of the Gunnison River, 33.5 miles (53.9 km) long,^[4] in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta.

It is formed in the mountains of northwestern Gunnison County by the confluence of Muddy Creek and Anthracite Creek. The confluence is located along State Highway 133 on the south side of McClure Pass. It descends to the southwest through a widening valley past Somerset, Paonia, and Hotchkiss. It joins the Gunnison in eastern Delta County downstream from the Black Canyon between Delta and Hotchkiss. The valley of the river, called the North Fork Valley, has a temperate climate that has historically been a center of fruit growing in southwestern Colorado. It is also a regional center of the coal mining industry, centered on the mining town of Somerset in the upper valley. Modern coal mining operations are highly visible along the upper valley walls. The creeks at the headwaters of the river pass through areas of highly erodible shale, resulting in high concentrations of sediment during springtime runoff.